SnC 037 – Wed 1 Nov 2006

We’re back … well, almost back. How do you like the meringue monster I found in my plate last week? We’re now into the second week without phones and broadband so browsing the usual sources for great new music is just not feasible. So, today’s show marks a break from the routine. It is the first of an occasional series featuring selected artists who are coming in to record live sessions here at the barn. OK, I’m not pretending that this is a fully equipped recording studio but those who have made the trek to wildest Suffolk claim to have really enjoyed playing in this space. This departure from the usual is part of my mission to enable much more meaningful links between you the listener and the musicians that we listen to together. So, rather then just a conventional ‘unplugged’ session, I’m aiming more for the feel that the musician has just called round for a cup of tea, a chat and to play a few tunes. Which, unless the wine gets opened before the kettle boils, is the truth of it! It will be imperfect for a while. It may well remain imperfect, but you can be sure that it is real. "Sessions at the Barn" is not a replacement for the existing Suffolk ‘n’ Cool format which will continue, full-steam-ahead, (once we get the broadband back on) but a healthy supplement of humanity in a world with increasing potential to be impersonal. My take on it is that the technologies that we have can help make brand new types of connections between people which are just as real and unlimited by cultural and political borders. We have a few more sessions in the pipeline so please, take a listen to a few, let me know what you think and what would make the experience better for you. The first session features singer-songwriter, Grant Beardsley. I was put onto Grant by Kimo Watanabe, from Salt Lake City, Utah. I’ve played a few of Kimo’s haunting songs on the show this year and have a lot of respect for him as a musician, so his opinion mattered. It transpired that the English guitarist who had arrived at his father’s house one night had an almost magical ability to play the licks that Kimo was dreaming of, so a recording session was hastily arranged. The result is Won’t let you down, a track of deceptive simplicity which is (perhaps surprisingly) complemented by Grant’s almost rock guitar breaks.The last song that Grant plays in the session, Wanted Man, is a deliciously catchy twist on the title that will keep coming back to haunt you. Grant has a new acoustic album out very soon. You can be sure of hearing about it first on Suffolk ‘n’ Cool.I’ll not ramble on any more but instead invite you to open your ears, forgive the technical glitches (I’m learning, I promise, from every mistake!) and take a listen to a real musician, playing a real instrument and singing his own truth, with his own voice.Thanks for sticking with me.Peter